21 August 2009 at 07:02 (philosophy)
Staying home with a kid (or more than one) makes Fridays a little different than for those who punch a clock. I’m still looking forward to the weekend, though.
It’s always nice to have another parent around. I might even get a break to write. You know, longer than five minutes and possibly without someone napping on my arm. I have found it very difficult to continue to type with one arm stuck underneath a sleeping baby. Don’t want to move and wake her, but struggling to stay productive. Vicious cycle.
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20 August 2009 at 07:47 (Writing)
Tags: fiction, write what you know
How many times do we hear this? And yet, we try to transfer our experiences, our knowledge, into fiction. Well, a bunch of writers I know do this, and so do I.
The question is, how do you deal with friends or loved ones who think you’re writing about them? Many times I try to imagine crazy things, but that doesn’t mean it’s based off anyone near and dear to me.
Just curious what the writers out there think.
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19 August 2009 at 09:22 (Writing)
Tags: priorities, Writing
Some days, you just have to give yourself time to figure out what’s important.
Starting new projects is interesting, terribly easy, and then requires thought/guilt/determination to finish. A rewrite can sometimes be difficult to get the motivation for, but with short time it can be better suited to short times in front of the screen when interruptions are imminent.
Blogging and tweeting shouldn’t take long, but sometimes I just get stumped. Then there’s all that housework that can be so distracting! (Yes, there might be a little sarcasm there.)
And not to forget, that little fussy girl who always comes first. When I work out what I’m working on, she decides it’s time for her! Better luck when she naps. Please, nap soon?
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18 August 2009 at 08:34 (Writing)
Tags: non-fiction, Writing
Some of my fiction-writing friends have turned to articles here and there. It’s an interesting past-time. I have learned a few things in my pursuit of non-fiction.
One of them is that I love fiction. Writing truth doesn’t bring me the joy of making things up out of whole cloth.
Another is that there are a lot of opportunities that don’t have your name on them. We sign the rights away on most of these sites in exchange for a monetary reward. Many of these short articles end up online – do you ever wonder who makes those? Sometimes, I do.
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17 August 2009 at 18:34 (Science)
Tags: left-brain, logic, right-brain
Do you think left-brain and right-brain dominance is exclusive?
I have a writer friend who questions whether or not she ought to accept a rooommate who cannot punctuate a return email. As someone who lives with a man who can’t spell to save his life, I’d bet on him in the math department against almost any of my writer friends.
Most of my enginerding buddies have difficulties in the spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation departments. It isn’t about their intelligence – it’s simply an emphasis on the other side of the brain. The logic side, I think. Does that mean our language isn’t logical? Perhaps. I haven’t heard a single person try to argue that one.
In fact, there are a lot of spam eamils to the contrary- “If the plural of mouse is mice, is the plural of house hice?” One moose, two moose; one goose, two geese. While I know some math nerds who will argue that 2 + 2 can equal anything from 3 to 5, there is still logic in that statement.
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16 August 2009 at 12:29 (Writing)
Tags: Chris Baty, hiatus, NaNoWriMo, No Plot? No Problem!, Writing
What’s up with the past two weeks as a hiatus from blogging? I have no idea. I’ve been busy, but I wouldn’t think so busy I would forget to blog for an extended period of time.
Oh well. There is always another chance to get back up and start over. I started reading No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. It’s about writing a (short) 50,000 word novel in one month. NaNoWriMo has become quite an event in November, and I’d like to participate again this year, though the baby might get in the way. Then again, it’s exactly like the principle of the original challenge to have life posing obstacles that make it difficult to accomplish.
It’s only 1667 words a day. I know I can do 500 right now, though stringing sentences together has been difficult with the amount of sleep I’m getting from night to night. I bet I could work up to it by November. Any takers?
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1 August 2009 at 08:32 (Books, promotion)
Tags: author apperance, Prairie Lights bookstore, The Art of Science
has accepted to let me make an author appearance on September 26th.
I’m especially excited about this because it’s not a football Saturday – those are sacred events that I don’t think I could pull my friends away from, and the traffic would be awful anyway.
Maybe there will be football in the next book. That’s always a fun activity to watch or play. Until I get to writing that, though, I’ll be working toward advertising this event!
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30 July 2009 at 08:46 (Books, Publishing, promotion)
Tags: author appearance, bookstore, open house
I made another attempt to get an appearance at Prairie Lights in Iowa City. I’m making progress, but the lady isn’t very enthusiastic about it.
Mom talked about one that was ‘very successful’ that had a party attached to it. An open house wouldn’t be too difficult, if only I knew where to have one and what to do.
I’m curious, so I’m posing the question to my readers: What do you look for in an author appearance? What would bring you in, make you stay, and – more important in the store’s eyes – buy the book?
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29 July 2009 at 08:38 (Writing, philosophy)
Tags: emotional impact, story
Do you ever go back and read your own stories and still feel the same impact as the first time you wrote it?
Is it a thing about the writer to move yourself to laughter or tears? Is that when you know you’ve hit your audience?
I sent a particular story to a friend – I told her I cried while I wrote it. She said she cried while reading it and I called us both hormonal. (Sorry, friend!) But if that same passage keeps moving me to tears, and others as well, perhaps it isn’t just the hormones.
Now how do I keep that up?
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27 July 2009 at 10:48 (Science, Technology)
Northwestern University is using nanodiamonds to deliver insulin to fight infection and heal wounds. Perhaps they’re not just a girl’s best friend anymore? Just kidding, nanodiamonds would never be visible or good for resale. Read about it here.
It’s actually very interesting to have new ways to beat infection. Nanodiamonds are something I haven’t heard of. I might have to do some research to figure out what else they could be used for!
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